


A Private Concern

by Cantatrice18



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Feels, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Morning After Pill, Plan B, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-07-28
Packaged: 2018-07-27 07:08:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7608592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cantatrice18/pseuds/Cantatrice18
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Twice, upon reaching safety among the Rebels, Leia seeks out a medical droid for help. The second time, Han's curiosity gets the better of him, and he can't help but eavesdrop on a very private conversation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Private Concern

Han didn’t understand, when they reached the Rebel Base on Yavin, why Leia suddenly disappeared, but he wasn’t the sort to let the absence of a stuck-up princess bother him. He’d catch glimpses of her entering the bunker where only the most important Rebel leaders could go without clearance, her eyes darting from side to side as though checking to make sure no one was watching. The bunker contained the data reserves detailing the Empire’s military forces and troop movements, the conference room where leaders and informants met in private, the medical bay for emergencies, and a few select officer quarters. The cynical, lewd part of him assumed she’d found a lover among the officer class, though if she had she’d certainly managed to work fast. Still, it was none of his business what she did with her nights. He was only in this mess for the reward money, anyhow.

It was only years later, as their shuttle sped away from the godforsaken desert of Tattoine, that he began to piece together what must have really happened on Yavin. Leia was leaning against him, dozing with her head on his shoulder and her arm linked in his. She still wore the ridiculous get-up Jabba had forced her into, and even as he despised the Hutt for treating the young woman like an object, he had to admit that she made an alluring figure. The coppery metal stood out against her ivory skin, making her appear even paler, and her long dark braid snaked over shoulders to hang near the shadow between her breasts. He stroked her hair, kissing the top of her head, and she stirred, opening her eyes and looking around. When she caught his gaze she smiled contentedly, but stopped when she noticed her own provocative clothing. Her bright eyes clouded over with worry, and he saw her fingers begin to twitch the way they always did when her thoughts were racing. “What is it?” he asked softly, careful not to attract the attention of their companions.

“Nothing,” she replied at once, the way he’d known she would. He waited, hiding his impatience, until she spoke again. “Where’s Luke?” she asked.

“Gone,” he replied coolly. “Off to Dagoba. He said he had unfinished business there.”

“Oh, I see.” 

She seemed more concerned than ever, and Han felt a familiar pang of jealousy toward his friend and sometime rival. For whatever reason, Leia seemed to trust Luke in a way she’d never trusted him. “Anything I can do?” he queried, careful to keep his tone light.

“No, I just…” she paused, then sighed. “Yes, I suppose. Would you mind taking me to the Med Bay when we reach the ship?”

“Med Bay?” All jealousy was forgotten in an instant. “Are you hurt?” There had been a lot of stray laser blasts in the fighting, but surely he would have noticed if she’d been hit.

“I’m fine,” she snapped, some of her old clipped annoyance coming back into her voice. “Just something to take care of, that’s all.”

He nodded slowly. “Alright. The moment we land, I’ll bring you there.”

“Thank you, Han.” She leaned into him, and he held her closer, her worry now settling into his own heart.

They reached the ship an hour later -- a cruiser several times larger than the Falcon that Lando had provided for the rescue mission. Han recognized the ship as one he and Lando had haggled over in the years before he’d bought the Falcon. It was a reliable craft, good for smuggling large cargo, but it wasn’t nearly as maneuverable or as fast as his ship. Still, he remembered enough about the schematics to lead Leia down several corridors to the Medical Bay. Once there he saluted her jokingly and she smiled the half-smile that always sent a tingle down his spine. “I appreciate your help, Captain,” she said formally, a mocking gleam in her eyes. “Now if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like some privacy.”

“At your service,” he replied with a deep bow, before backtracking along the corridor. He’d barely turned the corner when he stopped, conflicting emotions warring within him. She’d asked for privacy, but he couldn’t help feeling that something was seriously wrong with her. If that was the case, he had to know, had to be ready to help her. He hoped he was overreacting, but hope wasn’t going to cut it, not with Leia. Slowly, his footsteps silent from years of practice, he made his way back to the Med Bay entrance and leaned his ear against the door. 

“—long has it gone on?” he heard the medical droid saying.

“One week, two days,” Leia replied. There was a note of sorrow in her voice Han hadn’t heard since the destruction of Alderaan. He snuck a peek through the Plexiglas window and saw Leia sitting on the examining table, her legs dangling over the edge. 

“How many times?” the droid asked impassively.

Leia looked down, her shoulders hunched. “Too many,” she murmured.

“Species?” the droid queried.

“Human and Hutt, but also Twi’lek and several others I did not recognize.”

“Incidents of implantation are high with Hutts,” the droid informed her.

“I know,” said Leia dryly. “Why do you think I’m here?”

“It is not my business to ask.” The droid turned to a screen that was flashing blue letters. “Your Med file says you’ve had this procedure before.”

“Yes, four years ago. Similar reasons, though not as many attackers, and only humans.”

Han felt a cold chill spread from is stomach out through his limbs. His heart seemed to beat harder than normal against his chest. Understanding came to him even as he tried to push the thoughts away. She couldn’t mean what he thought she meant. Yet as he looked at her again, her body barely hidden by metal and silk, he knew he must be correct. The thought nauseated him and he leaned heavily against the wall. 

The droid was speaking again. “You understand the side effects? The bleeding will be profuse, given how many species were involved. You may lose your appetite, be temporarily incapacitated and unable to move quickly until the chemicals have left your system. There are risks of permanent damage to the heart and internal organs, and the possibility of sterility for life.”

“I understand the risks,” Leia said quietly. “It has to be done.”

“Then you should begin treatment as soon as possible.” The droid turned and made its way back to a cabinet near the ship’s small bacta tank. Leia watched its progress as it extended its arms and unlocked a cabinet too high for any human to reach. When the droid returned, it held a tiny blue canister with a trio of black rings on the top. “Take one now, and avoid eating for an hour. Come back if the effects become debilitating.”

Leia carefully retrieved a single white capsule from the canister and swallowed it, belatedly accepting a cup of water from the droid and washing the pill down, a pained expression on her face as she did. “Ugh,” she groaned when she’d finished. “I’d almost forgotten that taste.”

“It was not designed to be pleasant.” 

The droid’s tone was neutral, but Leia’s glare was not. “It was designed for those who need help, who have no other way to get it. Until this ship becomes property of the Empire, it will be available to every woman, without question. Is that understood?”

The droid nodded obediently, moving to one side and motioning that Leia was free to go. She stood, hands automatically brushing against her legs as though smoothing her skirt, then paused. “You’ll tell no one why I came here?”

The droid shook its clunky metal head. “Without patient consent, I cannot disclose personal information to non-family members, as per Privacy Statute 309b in the—“

“Thank you,” Leia cut the droid off, stepping down from the exam table and toward the door. Han quickly darted back down the hallway and around the corner, far from the Med Bay doors. He waited, barely breathing, until he heard the doors open and shut and the swish of silk. Only then did he turn the corner again. Leia was halfway down the hall, walking toward him, but stopped in surprise when he appeared. “I thought you were checking on the Falcon?” she asked suspiciously.

“Done,” he replied, with as much false bravado as he could muster. “That ship knows me so well it does whatever I tell it to without a single complaint.”

“Uh-huh.” Leia’s left eyebrow raised skeptically, but it appeared she was not in the right mood to spar with him. After what he’d overheard, he knew why.

“So you’re all, you know, patched up?” he asked, awkwardly aware of his arms at his sides.

“Patched up?” her arms crossed in front of her chest, a position he knew all too well. “I’m not a ship’s hull, flyboy.” He smiled at her, and her body relaxed slightly. “I’ll be fine, with some rest. In the meantime, I’d better find whatever cabin Luke stored my supplies in. I can’t exactly help lead a rebellion dressed like this.”

Han offered her his arm with mock gallantry, and was pleasantly surprised when she took it, leaning against him for support. Her shoulders shook ever so slightly, but her mouth was set in a determined line as they walked together down the hall once more. He thought back to the days on Yavin, how pale and drawn she’d looked, how she’d snapped at his teasing. The Death Star’s prison cells were nothing to scoff at, but her cell in particular had sported an odd stone ledge large enough for more than one human. It maddened him that he’d never thought before of all the ways Vader and Tarkin must have found to torture a helpless young woman. On a battlestation full of men, the line of officers ready and willing to force themselves on a captive must have stretched half a mile. His rage toward the Empire’s corrupt leaders grew hotter and stronger within his breast. For Leia’s sake he would make the Emperor and his lackeys pay for what they’d done, just as Jabba had paid: their power destroyed, their followers dead or deserted, their corpses devoured by flame. Even if he was forced to fight for the rest of his life, it would be worth it to never see that awful look of pain and sorrow on her features again. And if that meant spending the rest of his life at her side, well, who could say? There had to be worse things than watching over a rebel princess.


End file.
